-Our next guest is a very funny comedian and actor
you know from films like "Train Wreck"
and "Don't Think Twice,"
as well as the Showtime series "Billions."
His Broadway show -- it's fantastic --
"The Old man & the Pool," is playing at
the Vivian Beaumont Theater,
with an additional two-week extension of its run.
Please welcome back to the show our friend Mike Birbiglia.
[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪
Welcome back. -So good to see you.
-It's so good to see you. I saw you last night.
My mom and I came and saw your show, and it was fantastic.
-Thank you so much. It's been such a blast.
And I insisted on taking a photo with your mom.
-You did, yeah.
-I was sort of the Patty of the scenario.
-Yeah, you -- -And the Bruce.
I was the Patty and the Bruce.
-Yeah, I just -- Because, again, we just showed this, right?
-Right.
-You sure you want me to show it?
-Yeah, I think it's -- -Alright.
I mean, she's pretty happy. No, no, she's happy.
She's happy. That's her --
-We got it at a wrong moment.
-Yeah, but it's -- Look at the side-by-side. I mean...
-It's like you can't tell her apart.
[ Laughter ]
You also -- So, you've been doing
shows like this for a long time.
And I have been coming to them for a long time
and enjoying them a great deal.
And I did not realize, you found photos of me
from 10 years ago, at the premiere --
-I did this thing.
So, my first show was "Sleepwalk with Me."
My second one was "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend."
And I dug this one up from the
"My Girlfriend's Boyfriend" premiere.
I just -- I put in Seth's name
into my photos program, and what showed up was this.
-This is me, I guess, waiting in line for the bathroom.
-Yep. Waiting in line for the bathroom.
These are real. 2011. -These are real photos.
-I like -- Why did you take a picture of me waiting in line?
-No, these are -- I just have a million photos from there.
-Alright. That's me and my wife, Alexi, at your show.
And this is --
-By the way, pretending to pay attention to the conversation.
-Yeah. I'm the dead giveaway.
You can always tell when Seth is kind of not into it.
-Hold on. Can I just do an impression?
You want to leave the conversation.
-This is really -- You know, this is a triumphant --
This was, you know, opening night, and --
-Yes, opening night of "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend."
-And this is just me and John Hodgman,
We're so proud of you.
And you just look great in this picture right there.
-This is...
And for some reason, the photo is taken
behind the photographers.
And you're just, like, teasing me and holding up my hands.
This would never be used in any kind of magazine or anything.
Who would ever use this photo?
-This is -- The fact that you used it here
is an incredible breakthrough.
This is -- Oh, also you --
You know, I obviously came to see your show.
There were other people backstage
who came to see your show.
Paul Rudd came to see your show.
And you have -- Some people have sort of mentioned
that you might look a little like Paul Rudd.
-Over the years, people go, "You look like Paul Rudd,"
and then, sometimes, they dial it back and they go,
"You look like Paul Rudd.
He's a little better-looking."
You know what I mean?
And then they go like, "He's in better --"
"Ant-Man" hasn't helped. -No.
-You know what I mean? He's buff, you know?
-Yeah. And it could have gone either way.
You could have been Ant-Man. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It could have been me, could have been him.
And then, a few years ago, I did my last show,
which was called "The New One,"
at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles,
and a reviewer came and the reviewer wrote,
in the "Los Angeles Times,"
"If this becomes a film, it must star Paul Rudd."
I'm an actor also!
I make films also!
A cursory look at my Wikipedia
would tell you enough to know, you know,
maybe don't mention another person
who is roughly the same age and does the same thing
for the same -- Anyway, you get the idea.
-Now, is this staged, this photo,
or is this just proof of how much you look like Paul Rudd?
'Cause look -- -Isn't that nice?
-That's really a great photo.
-Our photographer, Emilio, did that.
And it's a trick shot.
Because I said to Paul -- He came to the show.
And I go, "I get this comparison all the time,
and I think it would be funny for my Instagram
if I said -- like, when I'm feeling down about myself,
I imagine I'm Paul Rudd."
And then, he was like, "Yeah."
And so we each stood in the same spot
and then we Photoshopped --
-It's very well done. -It's fun, right?
-It's very well done. -Yeah.
-So, your show is so funny,
which is what I've come to expect from you.
What's a little different is, this show is about
some serious bad-health diagnoses
you've got from a doctor.
So, when you're going through that --
Because from the very first time you see a doctor
in the telling of the show,
you have very funny observations.
Is that happening in real time?
When you're getting bad news, are you also like,
"Oh, but also, that's going to be fun
to talk about and this over here"?
-Everything in my life all the time is like,
"That could be in."
You know what I mean?
Like, I fell down subway steps a few years ago --
And, literally, I fell down the steps.
I broke my shoulder. I'm lying on the floor.
People are blowing past me like, "You need help? No? Good."
You know what I mean? [ Laughter ]
And you're laughing because you've been
one of these pigs, and I want you pigs to know,
we of the floor are aware you do not wish to help.
But, literally, I'm lying on the floor thinking,
"This could be pretty good material."
You know what I mean? I'm always thinking that.
And then, with this show, I talk about it.
Like, "Hi. "I have type 2 diabetes.
I had bladder cancer.
I have a serious sleepwalking disorder."
Sometimes, I'm onstage and I am thinking like, "Wow!
That's a lot of stuff.
This guy has got it rough."
And then I'm like, "This guy's me."
So, yeah, no, it's a weird -- It's kind of the inverse
of that, where sometimes, I'm like,
"Oh, maybe have I revealed too much?"
But then, ultimately, like, people come to the show.
I talk about, like, the darkest things about my own experience,
the saddest things.
I make jokes of them. I talk about death.
It's a lot about death.
And people feel better afterwards,
and, like, it's honestly --
Like, performing all these years -- it's my fifth show --
it's the one that makes me feel like
I'm doing a thing that's helping a little bit.
-Yeah. I felt that way.
I mean, it is a -- Again, I want to stress,
it's very funny from start to finish,
but there are moments where you sort of --
You talk to us honestly about when
you were taking stock of your life.
And I think it's a really helpful thing
to be there listening to.
I have more to ask you about,
especially how the YMCA has responded to the show so far.
-Oh, yes, the YMCA has not made a formal response,
but, yeah, we'll talk about that.
-We'll be right back with more from Mike Birbiglia.